NEWS: 2018 Museums Network

2018 will mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which saw voting rights granted to women for the first time. The 1918 act enfranchised women over 30 who met certain property ownership requirements, and extended the vote to almost all men over the age of 21. It laid the path for the introduction of universal suffrage ten years later, which saw women win equal voting rights to men.

After a lot of interest was expressed around the idea of a network which would provide opportunities for organisations planning to celebrate this anniversary to share information and discuss the possibilities of joint promotion on external and public-facing websites and platforms, the Museums Association’s Director Sharon Harper took the decision to create the 2018 Museums Network bringing together museums with plans to commemorate the anniversaries of several gender equality milestones in 2018.

2018 will also mark the 50th anniversary of the women’s strike at Ford Dagenham, which led to the eventual introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, and the 130th anniversary of the matchwomen’s strike, which saw women take collective action against hazardous working conditions and poor pay.

If your museum has plans to celebrate these anniversaries or you are interested in finding out more about joining the network, please contact Sharon Harper on the details below. A number of museums have already started planning events for 2018, including the East End Women’s Museum in London, which is in the planning stages and will open to coincide with the anniversaries in 2018, the People’s History Museum in Manchester, and St Fagan’s Museum of National History in Wales.